Pressure resistance tester

ABSTRACT

A PRESSURE RESISTANCE TESTER FOR CHECKING THE PRESSURE RESISTANCE OF PASS-THROUGH FITTINGS OR OTHER CLOSURES SUBJECT TO EXTREME PRESSURES COMPRISING A PRESSURE CHAMBER HAVING INTERNAL THREADS ADAPTED TO THREADINGLY ENGAGE ONE END OF THE PASS-THROUGH FITTING OR CLOSURE AND ALSO ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A SOURCE OF PRESSURE WHICH APPROXIMATES THE WORKING PRESSURE TO WHICH THE PASS-THROUGH FITTING OR CLOSURE WILL BE SUBJECTED IN ACTUAL PRACTICE.

Feb. 2, 1971 r w. R. FORMAN 3, 5

PRESSURE RESISTANCE TESTER Filed Dec. 16, 1968 men PRESSURE SOURCE l N VEN TOR. WILLIS R. FOR MAN ROY MILLER ATTORNEY.

United States Patent O 3,559,459 PRESSURE RESISTANCE TESTER Willis R. Forman, San Diego, Calif., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Dec. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 783,975 Int. Cl. Glllm 3/02 US. Cl. 73-46 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pressure resistance tester for checking the pressure resistance of pass-through fittings or other closures subject to extreme pressures comprising a pressure chamber having internal threads adapted to threadingly engage one end of the pass-through fitting or closure and also adapted to receive a source of pressure which approximates the working pressure to which the pass-through fitting or closure will be subjected in actual practice.

GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When working in high pressure environments such as those existent at great ocean depths it is necessary that any fitting which passes through the hull of a working chamber which is to be used at the depths be pressure checked prior to actual use to make sure there are no leaks therein. Pressure checking in prior practice involved placing the entire body through which the pass-through fittings penetrated in a pressure chamber. Once the entire body was in the pressure chamber, the chamber was then sealed, source of pressure attached thereto and the pressure at the working depth approximated. The size and availability of the chamber and the lack of mobility of the body combined to make pressure checks extremely difiicult.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The single figure of the drawing illustrates the manner in which the pressure tester is used on a pass-through fitting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The pressure tester of the present invention is adapted to be utilized with a pass-through fitting or other closure such as that set forth in copending application Ser. No. 726,507 filed May 3, 1968 by Willis R. Forman. A passthrough fitting as set forth therein is generally indicated in the figure at and has leads 11, 12 and 13 extending therethrough. The pass-through fitting is inserted through a hole 14 in a pressure hull 15 and secured against an external boss 16 by engaging the inner end of the pass-through fitting with a nut 17 which frictionally abuts a washer 18 which in turn abuts the pressure hull 15.

Boss 16 is secured to the exterior hull 15 by a weldment 19. The exterior headed portion of the pass-through fitting is threaded as at 20 and closely abutting the head portion of the pass-through fitting is a potting material generally indicated at 21. Any conventional potting material is normally used.

"ice

In actual practice, the pass-through fitting is inserted through the hull 15 and secured thereto by the use of the nut 17 and then an aluminum can, not shown, is threadably attached to the threaded portion 20 of the passthrough fitting-to protect it against physical damage prior to use.

At some point in the operation it is necessary that the pressure integrity of the pass-through fitting be checked to make sure that no high pressure leaks are present at a working depth. In order to do this the present invention contemplates providing a pressure chamber 22 hav ing an internal bore portion 23 which in turn has internal threads 24 therein.

An O-ring groove 25 is provided at the outer end of the bore 23 which is adapted to receive an O-ring seal 26.

The rearmost portion of the pressure chamber 23 has a hole 27 drilled therein to receive a source of high pressure fluid generally indicated at 28. A valve 29 is provided between the high pressure source 28 and the pressure chamber 23 to adjust the pressure in the interior chamber 23.

In operation, the aluminum can normally covering the outer end of the pass-through fitting 10 is removed and the pressure chamber 22 threadably attached. The pressure chamber screwed down to the point where the O-ring 25 is deformed enough to provide a pressure seal against the boss 16. At this point the source of high pressure is coupled to the pressure chamber through valve 29 and a pressure check taken to verify the integrity of the passthrough fitting 10.

Once the pressure check is completed and the integrity certified the pressure chamber 23 is removed and the protective aluminum cap resecured to the threaded portion 20 of the pass-through fitting 10.

What is claimed is:

1. An in situ pressure resistance tester for testing the resistance to leakage of a pass-through fitting in a member to be subjected to extreme pressure comprising:

a pressure chamber adapted for extreme pressures having an internal bore portion adapted to receive an end of a pass-through fitting to be tested;

an internally threaded portion in said pressure chamber adapted to engage an externally threaded portion of said pass-through fitting;

sealing means at the outboard end of said internally threaded portion of the internal bore portion;

said sealing means providing an airtight seal against a member surrounding said pass-through fitting when said pressure chamber is threadedly engaged with said pass-through fitting so that an extreme pressure may be induced in said internal bore portion approximating an extreme pressure to which the pass-through fitting will be subjected; and

means on said pressure resistance tester adapted to be connected to a source of extreme pressure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,437,053 11/ 1922 Harrington 73-46 2,246,885 6/ 1941 Jones 138-90 2,342,616 2/ 1944 OBrien 73-46 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner W. A. HENRY II, Assistant Examiner US. 01. X.R. 73-47 

